Wire-twisting tool.



0. C. FENLASON.

WIRE TWISTING TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 23. I915.

1,11,297. Patented May 2,1916.

WITNESSES:

A [10mg 1/ ORIN C. FENLASON, OF RAYMOND, WASHINGTON.

WIRE-TWISTING- TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Application filed September 23, 1915. Serial No. 52,232.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORIN C. FnNLAsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Raymond, in the. county of Pacific and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Wire-Twisting Tool, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to wire twisting tools and its object is to provide a tool for twisting the ends of one or more strands of wire together.

While the tool of the present invention has considerable range of use, it is intended more particularly for twisting the ends of a binding wire together, especially where the binding wire is placed in encircling relation to boxes or containers and it is desired to fasten the wire by twisting the free ends of the encircling wire together.

In accordance with the present invention, the tool comprises a stem with a head at one end having an axial continuation on the side of the head remote from the stem, which continuation is of taper form with the small end relatively sharp. On the opposite sides of the stem and its taper continuation the head is traversed by passages which in cer tain forms of the invention may be in the shape of recesses. Furthermore, the stem of the tool carries an elongated handhold shaped at the end toward the head to engage the strands of wire carried through the passages in the head so that any desired degree of pressure may be applied to the wire strands to increase the tension exerted upon the strands in twisting them. For convenience of manipulation, that end of the stem remote from the head is provided with a T handle which may also be shaped to serve as a hammer head for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter is not confined to strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications come within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wire twisting tool embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the tool. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the twisting head, as seen from the end remote from the handle. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modificat1on of one of the wire receiving passages.

Referrlng to the drawings, there is shown a stem 1, which may be of elongated, straight, cylindrical form and near one end the stem is laterally expanded into a head 2 whlch may also be of cylindrical form although not necessarily so. Axially extended from that face of the head 2 remote from the stem 1 is a taper continuation 8 ending in a relatively short point 4, and this continuation 3 may be termed a mandrel because of its function, which will be hereinafter set forth. On opposite sides of the stem 1, the head 2 has passages 5 therethrough which passages are preferably, although not necessarily, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stem 1. Each passage at the end toward the mandrel 3 is countersunk as shown at 6, such countersink being of taper form so that the end of each passage 5 toward the mandrel 3 widens out for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. That end of the stem remote from the head 2 is provided with a handle 7 which for convenience of manipulation is preferably a T- handle with the extremities widened and flattened as shown at 8 to serve the purpose of hammer heads, to flatten down the twisted wires.

Mounted to slide longitudinally on the stem 1 is an axially elongated sleeve 9 having the end toward the head 2 annularly beveled as indicated at 10 and that end of the sleeve 9 toward the handle 7 is provided with an exterior annular channel 11 leaving at the end toward the handle 7 an annular flange 12.

In explaining the operation of the tool of the present invention, it is assumed that a box or other container or a bundle of material, indicated by a fractional portion 13 thereof, is to be inclosed in a wire loop having terminal portions 14, 15, which are to be twisted together in order that the wire loop may be drawn tightly around the article or articles encircled thereby and the ends '14, 15 may be turned upon each other a sufficient number of times to insure their certain joinder.

When the wire employed is more or less pliable so as to be readily handled the ends 14 and 15 are extended through the passages 5 by way ofthe countersunk ends 6 thereof aml the extremities of the ends 14 and 15 are bent away from each other and from the stem 1 so as to be readily engaged by the beveled end 10 of the sleeve 9. The mandrel 3 is moved so that its relatively short point 4 is in engagement with the box or other article 13 and then by turnlng the stem 1 in the proper direction, say clockwise. by a. suitable manipulation of the handle 7, the wire. is caused to wrap closely about the mandrel 3 and particularly at the small end of the mandrel. This results in taking up any slack which may be present in the loop of wire extending about the box 13 or the like. By continuing the turning of the stem 1 steadied by the pointed end of the stem holding against the box 13, additional twists are made in the ends 14 and 15 about the mandrel 3, without, however, imparting destructive strains upon the loop of wire encircling the box. As soon as the loop is tight about the box and additional turns are formed in the wire ends, such ends move through the passages 5, but make no sharp bends because of the taper countersinks 6. As the turns of the twisted portion of the wire increase, the twist is elongated away from the box and if the ends 1 1 and 15 be short they will ultimately pull out from the passages 5 on the mandrel side of the head 2. During the manipulation of the tool its action is greatly facilitated by the operator grasping the sleeve or handhold 9 with one hand, while turning the stem 1, with the other hand grasping the handle 7. During the formation of the twists in the ends of the wire, the tension on the wire may be increased to any desired extent by forcing the beveled end 10 of the handhold 9 against the protruding ends 14 and 15, thus spreading the latter and causing considerable resistance to the movement of the wire through the passages 5 during the twisting operation. The degree of resistance of the passage of the wire may be made great or small in accordance with the wishes of the operator.

When it is desired to move the handheld 9 away from the head 2 and to hold it in such retracted position, the fingers of the operator may engage in the channel 11 and against the flange or shoulder 12 thereby readily moving the sleeve toward the handle even during the manipulation of the tool to produce a twisting together of the wire terminals 14 and 15. When the attempt is made to twist the two ends of a wire loop together by means of a pair of pliers no provision is made for slippage of the ends toward the forming twists on the side thereof remote from the loop and consequently there is a binding of the loop to such an extent that oftentimes the wire is ruptured at the loop end of the twist, wherefore the ends of the loo become separated and the effectiveness of the loop is completely lost.

With the present invention, the twisting after the initial tightening of the loop is due to the utilization of the portion of the wire extending through the passages 5 to that side of the head 2 remote from the box.

equally twisted thereby preventing one end or strand of the wire from twisting about the other strand as an axis. As the twisting continues, the operator withdraws the twisting tool from the box and the mandrel is correspondingly Withdrawn from the twisted part of the wire and the latter becomes tightly twisted.

The tools are made of sizes corresponding to the wire to be twisted, the size of the head 2, the spacing of the holes 5 and the size of the mandrel 3 all being dependent upon circumstances. The holes 5 are at all times made large enough to permit the easy passage of the wire.

In the case of the employment of rather heavy wire the arrangement of Fig. 4 is employed. Extending from one of the passages or holes 5 is a slot 16 which ma be curved toward the other hole 5 and the margin of the head with a progressively increasing radius until the slot opens through the edge of the head where one side of the slot is beveled as indicated at 17 to form a widened entering mouth for the slot. Furthermore, the slot 16 while large enough to receive the wire for which the tool is designed may be somewhat narrower than the diameter of the passage 5 into which the slot opens.

In the case of the binding wire being heavy, one end may be quite easily intro duced into one of the passages 5 but difiiculty would be encountered in endeavoring to place the other end of the wire through the other passage 5. It is for this reason that the slot 16 is provided in tools designed for heavy'wire since then the second end of the wire may be moved into the corresponding passage 3 laterally of the head and of the passage.

A tool made of about the proportions illustrated in the drawing will operate successfully with number eighteen or similar wire, while for heavy wire the head 2 and the passages 5 should be made correspondingly larger and the mandrel 3 be correspondingly increased in size. The tool is useful in twisting the ends of wire loops encircling bales, or in fastening fence wires together, or in fact, it may have an extent of use in many connections where it'is desirable to twist wires together without liability of rupturing the wires or of producing a twist where none of the stands will pull out under strain.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire twisting tool comprising a stem having one end provided with a manipulating member and the other end laterally expanded into a head with passages on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the stem for receiving the wires to be twisted together, said head on the side thereof remote from the stem being provided with an axially extended mandrel for receiving the twisted parts of the wire and upon which the twisting is initially produced, and a sleeve mounted on the stem' between the manipulating member and the head and movable lengthwise of the stem.

2. A wire twisting tool comprising a stem having one end provided with a manipulating member and the other end laterally expanded into a head with passages on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the stem for receiving the wires to be twisted together, said head on the side thereof remote from the stem being pro- Y vided with an axially extended mandrel for receiving the twisted parts of the Wire and upon which the twisting is initially produced, and a sleeve mounted on the stem between the manipulating member and the head and movable lengthwise of thestem, said sleeve having a range of movement lengthwise of the stem and formed at the end toward the head to engage the wires on the side of the rotatable member remote from the mandrel and operable at will to vary the resistance to the passage of the wire toward the mandrel.

4. A tool for twisting wire strands to-' ether to fasten them, comprising a stem l aaving a manipulating handle at one end and a twisting head at the other, with said head having passages on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, and an axial continuation on the side of the head remote from the stem, and a sleeve on the stem movable lengthwise thereof with the end toward the head marginally beveled, said sleeve constituting a pressure member adapted to be grasped by one hand of the operator for varying the resistance to the passage of the wire through the twisting head.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

, ORIN C. FENLASON. Witnesses:

J OHN H. Sreeanas, J OHN R. RAY. 

